Sunday, December 20, 2009

New Zealand went two from two as they won their second consecutive IRB World Series Sevens leg in George, beating Fiji in the final, following on from their great tournament win in Dubai.

Their 21-12 final victory over their biggest rivals confirms that they're back in the swing of things after a pretty disappointing run last season, as they incredibly failed to win a tournament.

They now have 48 points and a 12 point advantage over Fiji, with Samoa third after two rounds.

Flyer Sherwin Stowers was a standout player for NZ throughout the tournament, and looks to be the real find of the past few weeks. He'll no doubt tear up the Sevens circuit over the next few months, and we'll hopefully then see him in action in the Super 14.

Coach Gordon Tietjens praised his 12-man squad, who did well to come back from being two tries down against England, and then narrowly beat Kenya 17-14 in the Semi Final.

"The final was different from our two previous matches in that we took the lead and stayed ahead. Captain DJ Forbes led by example and younger members of the squad can only learn from him.

"We have made the perfect start with two victories after a terrible time last year. There is a long way to go but we will take it one tournament at a time and give it our best shot," he promised.

This video features their road to the final, as well as the big match itself. Highlights covered are against Samoa, the United States, Wales, England, Kenya, and then the final against Fiji.

We'll have the best bits from this weekend's rugby action for you soon. Requests have been few and far between though, so please send them in if you're hoping to see specific clips. Thanks.

are there different rules for rucks in 7s? that ball seemed out when the ref was screaming at the fijians to back out (And when the commentator said he was "kind" not to give a penalty. Also showed have been a yellow card for taking the man out on that last play. very cynical stuff, that deserved a penalty at least.